Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Rio Grande National Forest

Park Creek Campground Rio Grande National Forest

Elevation: 8500

Directions: In South Fork, Colorado, at intersection of State 149 and US 160, take Road 160 west 7.8 miles to Park Creek campground sign. Turn left at sign into campground.

This small campground, stretches along the banks of the South Fork of the Rio Grande River among mature shade trees. Many sites are adjacent to the river. US Highway 160 is very close by so will have some traffic noise. The campground has the feel of spacious seclusion and is very cool and shady. Accessible, Tent camping, Camping trailer, Picnic tables, Toilets , Drinking water.

Lovely small campground with lots of shady, generous campsites, some by the Little Squaw Creek and upper Rio Grande River, and others up next to rock bluffs. The site and facilities were very clean and the camp hosts extremely nice and well versed on this area of Rio Grande National Forest! No electric or sewer hookups, with community well water pumps, and restrooms. Fishing was really good, artificial lures only! Wildlife included elk, moose, bear, deer, chipmunks, rabbits, magpies, ravens, hummingbirds, swallows, and Spring flora were everywhere! Road to camps are rock/dirt, and not very RV friendly (lots of washboards and fallen rock), and if you're not good with heights, some of the road narrows with drop off sides and no railing/barriers. We were there in late May and the nights got down into the 20s, with some heavy wet snow that melted off the next day. Took a drive up past Lost Creek Campground to one of the high meadows and it was breathtaking! Did I mention the elevation of over 10,000 feet? There is a large forested area that has burned, but aspens and other new growth are coming back. Overall, this has been one of our favorite campgrounds. Some sites are reservable and the rest are FCFS. America the Beautiful and Golden Age Passes are accepted.

WE LOVED OUR TRIP TO THIS RV PARK.  NESTLED ON THE RIO GRANDE RIVER AND PLENTY OF LARGE COTTONWOOD TREES PROVIDING SHADE AND A REPRIEVE FROM THE WARM AFTERNOON SUN.  LESS THAN ONE MILE FROM DEL NORTE WITH SHOPS AND DELICIOUS MICRO BREWERY AND MICRO BAKERY (WHICH OPENED THE DAY WE ARRIVED).  HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FOR FAMILIES AND PETS.

PLAYGROUND FOR KIDS HAS A FUN ZIPLINE AND LOTS OF TRAILS TO WALK THE DOGS.

Our family of four (two adults and two kids + a dog) were lucky enough to tent camp at the Ramble Test Site location as early testers back in late September 2022. The campsite is modeled after the Signature Plus category and it is massive: three spread out and level tent pads with tie down hooks and each had its own electrical outlet that we used for tent lights and iphone charging. The campsite was well equipped with everything you'd need for an awesome camping trip. It had its own outdoor kitchen with a foot pump powered sink, drinkable water, a really nice Camp Chef stove, a solar powered outlet for small devices(plugged up the bluetooth speaker), a large shade structure, a picnic table, a fancy Solo Stove fire pit, six comfy but well built chairs, horseshoe pits and cornhole. The campsite was pet friendly and even had a dog leash connection hook. We used a trailer bathroom at this location but the location down near the Great Sand Dunes National Park will have its own bath house with flushing toilets, sinks, hot showers and baby changing areas. It also will include a mini shop that is QR code accessible for easy purchases of firewood and toiletries. I would highly recommend this campground for those looking for a genuine and upscale camping experience!

Campground Review

What a cool place to cool off near the Sand Dunes. There are plots for RVs as well as tents. The campground hasn't been open more than a year and a half, and some areas are still taking shape and overall the campsite is still figuring itself out. While some sites are well established, there's a decent amount of open flat land people were camping on as well. This place used to be a tilapia farm and there's still some pools around the place with large fish. There are a few ponds with frogs too, which is cool, but also means pack the earplugs as these guys are an alarm clock you can't snooze in the AM.

The main attraction of this place for families has to be the pool, which also has a basic restaurant with grill food that's reasonably priced. There's also a separate adult only area within the pool rec center called "The Green Room" which has a bar and various temperature level hot tubs, a wading pool, and a sauna.

There is also a basketball court, coin operated showers and laundry, water hook ups, and electric hookups.

What's a little awkward about this place (as of May 2017) is the showers are a combo shower/toilet room, and there are two of them to service this whole camp when the pool rec area is closed (10pm-10am). There was another single service bathroom around the back of the rec building, but not well marked. While there are 2 port-o-potties (well maintained, to their credit), they would do well to add more facilities for the growing campground space, especially since checkout is 11am so most people want to use the bathrooms before they hit the road.

Gear Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products from time to time - today I am testing the Outdoor Travel Pack from Green Goo. Inside the plastic carry case (probably a good airport toiletry bag when these things get used up) it comes with two lip balms, some bug spray repellent, and two different salves - a pain relief and a first aid. Green Goo is a company based out of Lyons, CO and they definitely know how to cater to the drier air climate out here. Keeping yourself from getting cracked hands, feet, and lips is a constant struggle and so I'm always looking for good products to help me win the war. When your lips are begging for moisture, these balms are awesome because almost on contact does it start to feel like my lips are getting hydrated. The taste/flavors are good choices too, and not overpowering. I also am not a fan of lip balms that flake when you apply or leave a glossy finish, and this did neither.

The bug spray was nice for the flies, and it felt good knowing when I was spraying the stuff around my dog or campsite that if residue was getting anywhere, it wasn't a big deal since their products are made with all natural ingredients. Odor was also fine.

The First Aid salve was a savior, as we were camping in South Colorado in a town near Great Sand Dunes National Park and the basically desert climate dried out my feet pretty bad. I applied some salve when I woke up in the morning and before long my foot was already looking better. It felt better and when I put my sock on over the salve it didnt feel greasy or slippery. I continue to use it 3 days later and my feet are looking and feeling better.

My recommendation is to hit the sand dunes NOT at midday like me when it's hottest from the sun, but this and the pain relief salve were great for my dog. Yep, the products are safe around pets and what I decided to do after taking the dog out on the dunes (we turned around once it was super hot) was apply some to hit paws to help with the heat. Cracked paw pad protection for the win!

Overall this is a great line of products. They're easy to pack, do their job, and are all natural and safe around pets. What's not to like?

The Last Resort is a lovely RV Park and campground on the Blanco River off Highway 84 between Chama, New Mexico and Pagosa Springs, Colorado. There are full RV hook ups in the loop and partial hook up by the river. The Bunk House is a small cabin with a queen bed and electricity. Many great tent camping sites. There is a nice Bathhouse with a full kitchen, bathrooms with showers and a coin operated washer/dryer. They are open year round, free wifi and pets welcome. There is a small store with ice, sodas, snacks, fishing tackle, RV supplies, and toiletries.

This is our 3rd summer at the Last Resort. It's a very laid back place with 2 playgrounds and plenty of activities for kids - horse shoes, volleyball, tether ball, etc. They have a nice 4th of July celebration, potluck dinners and camp fires. There are often horses (and a goat) on the property and plenty of space to take a nice walk. This year, we saw a lot of Canada geese and there are also chickens and ducks. We really love watching the many hummingbirds and hanging out by the river. Lots of campers like to fish or float down the river on inner tubes.

Well maintained, beautiful and friendly hosts make for a wonderful place to stay.

My wife and I camped here in July 2021. The lower campground sits right on the Conejos River. Tons of shade under giant pine trees. Great fishing access to public waters.

One negative:

• Barking (more like yelping) dogs all 3 days of our visit. Owners left the dogs for hours during the day and the camp host seemingly did nothing to stop it.

In the end, this is an awesome spot with well-maintained spaces, clean-ish bathrooms, fresh water supply, and great privacy. If not for the dogs, I would give Aspen Glade a 5.

This is a well maintained campgrounds with great friendly staff. The San Juan River and small lake are on property. We are in spot #40 a large pull through with electric and water only. Dump station available on property too, most spots are full service. Dog friendly and great paths around lake in which to walk your dog. Wifi throughout park and I have two bars of cell service with Verizon.

We just got home from a 3 night stay. The resort was clean and Linda was very nice in checking us in. Friday night however I assume it was Allen that was very rude, disrespectful and unprofessional. We were sitting by the fire pit with friends. After having to find the firewood and build the fire ourselves. (The owners are supposed to do it nightly). Our friends had their dog leashed and laying under their chair. Apparently dogs aren't ok in the fire pit area. You can see from the attached photo this is not clear at all. Either way we were the only ones there and the dog was not hurting anything. Suddenly this man comes in, brings a sign with him that says no dogs on the grass, holds it up in front of us and loudly says "Can't you read?!". We promptly apologized for the misunderstanding and our friend took the dog to the camper. I can only assume this was Allen because he did not introduce himself or tell us who he was in any way. Just rudely insulted us and then proceeded to tell us he wanted us to leave right now. Well it was late, dark and we paid for our space and had no intention of leaving. The next night the fire pit had plywood covering it saying it was closed. So we could not enjoy a fire on our last night there. If this was Allen, he was rude, unprofessional and insulting. Nobody deserves to be treated that way, much less paying customers who were doing nothing wrong other than possibly misunderstanding the misleading signage. We will not be back and would not recommend! As a business owner myself I know how to treat customers and this isn't it!

Beautiful sites and right next to the water! Unfortunately closed now. Our dogs enjoyed running around though and they have clean pit toilets!

We spent a total of 8 days at this campground with 2 dogs and 3 kids. it was amazing falling asleep to the sound of the river at night and waking up to the call of singing birds. We enjoyed all the area had to offer. I recommend bringing decent bug repellent as the mosquitos can get heavy at dawn and dusk.

This site is awesome. Dog friendly easy to access but still out of range of the normal weekenders from Denver, etc. The campground is right off highway 160 and is tucked away down a small hill and some tall pines. Vaulted toilet and brand new bear lockers at each plot. Fire pit and picnic table too. We slept 10 yards from what we see as an offshoot of the Rio Grande and got in the river in the morning to wake up. It runs pretty loud (late May) so be ready to hear that all night. We found it relaxing though. Check out county road 380 for some good views and hiking as well nearby. There's not really a town close though so bring your water and firewood and snacks. 1 hour drive from Sand Dunes park too.